A powerful backup

Scosche goBAT II Portable Charger and Backup Battery

Handout

Handout

Terry Gardner, Special to Tribune Newspapers

Name: Scosche goBAT II Portable Charger and Backup Battery

What it is: A portable charger for USB devices that can charge two devices simultaneously, ranging from a tablet to a smartphone or iPod. The 2.1-amp port can charge both tablets and smartphones while the 1.0 amp port is designed to charge iPods, iPhones and less power-hungry devices. Scosche reports that a fully charged goBAT II can recharge a drained iPhone 4 2.6 times or an iPad up to 55 percent of full charge. The device comes with a retractable micro-USB cable for charging. You use your own cables for charging devices. The goBAT takes about seven hours to charge up.

The good: When fully charged, the goBAT II recharged my iPhone 3G almost three times. Instead of always worrying about running out of juice, this backup battery made me feel as if my iPhone had mated with the Energizer Bunny to keep going and going. I love a device that charges my iPod Nano and iPhone simultaneously. About the size of a toaster waffle, it's easily packed.

The bad: You have to remember to press the "on" button so the device starts charging, and you can't charge devices while you're recharging the goBAT II.